Randi said at a Delegates Assembly meeting "Spit in the face of fear." This in response to a senior teacher imploring Randi " ...help us. Your teachers are suffering." So the militant words came out per usual but UFT actions belie the words so how do you tell a probationary teacher to "Spit" when his/her back is not covered by the CL and when the chapter militancy that Randi championed at that DA meeting is non-existent because of a gutted contract. Randi had 83,000 plus teachers at her back and she negotiated away our job protections in 2005. So we have a broken union evidenced by the most potent indicator of union busting- the inability of this union to guarantee the right of its competent senior teachers and counselors to remain in their profession. Bloomberg-Klein broke the union because they know that even union leadership buys into the lie that teachers are to blame for the failed inner city schools. Why else did not or does not Randi - with 83, 000 plus teachers at her back- appear in enraged stance on the front page of the Post under the headline LEAVE MY TEACHERS ALONE!
Excessed qualified teachers operating as ATRs, job fairs where principals won't look at anyone over forty, and the zinger of a weapon, the
U-rating ,are the means of clearing the deck of the senior and/or vocal teacher. TAGNYC may not appear on the front of the Post but we will speak out in support of teachers who deserve better than the likes of Bloomberg-Klein and their business mantra "Its the bottom line, Stupid." We will tell Bloomberg-Klein that the 'bottom line' in education can not be reached through intimidation and academic fraud and corruption. We will encourage teachers to tell their stories here. This INSANITY has got to stop.
Jodeam
21 comments:
there's another aspect to this and that is what is happening day-to-day at the building level where principals are geting away with murder and ineptitude is the norm...and teachers are confronted with dishonesty, corruption, backstabbing, and union-busting, all in the name of "reform"...BloomKlein MUST GO! don't believe the hype, wherever you hear it...
We all(classroom teachers) must expose what is going on day to day and name names. I AM!!
I HAVE HAD ENOUGH! BASTA!!!!!
I am in contact with the Bayard Rustin estate to have the name removed from my school because of all the civil rights abuses.
TIME TO ACT!!!
As an ATR, I think I have one of the best reasons to be irrate; my school closed down last June, and Cami Anderson did her hatchet work in the most surreptitious, underhanded way you can imagine. But isn't that the Bloom / Klein way? I hate subbing--I can not accept the cavalier attitude of the UFT, "Well, at lest you have a job!" We need to band together and demand security and respect--if we let union busters like Klein and Bloomberg take away what we have worked so hard to acheive, then we deserve no better. This complacency has to end; no more "selling out" like the idiots who agreed to that awful contract did two years ago. I only hope that those of you who voted for it are suffering as I am now.
Good luck with your blog. Our Union needs to wake up. It's great to hear from you.
is this a large school that closed or a small one? and who is Cami Anderson? please elucidate it's too important to only get bits and pieces, thanks
After returning to college and earning a Master's plus 30 credits, satisfying all requirements for permanent teaching credentials, and diligently working as a teacher for almost 14 years, I now find myself unfairly rated as unsatisfactory, relegated to the "rubber room" and living in fear that I may lose my livelihood. My present unfortunate predicament follows administrative manipulation that placed me in the position of being an ATR and then arbitrarily placed me in a regularly assigned status, only informing me a week after the fact. This is only one of the contract violations that have been committed in my case. I have experienced perfidy and thoroughly unfair treatment ever since I entered my last school which I transferred to the last year that the union seniority transfer was possible. My career is shattered and I feel my years of dedication and hard work have been judged worthless. Many other people are in this situation -- such is the ongoing state of affairs under Chancellor Joel Klein. We must work together to protect ourselves and stop the injustice and madness which threatens our livelihoods, not to mention our reputations, and which ultimately will imperil the children attending public schools in this city.
-- Sounfair
More power to you teachers! I find it very had to believe that Klein doesn't know the number of ATR's! I would think he knows exactly how many there are , and how many people are in the rubber room! $$$$ is the bottom line. I wonder how many more teachers will be unfairly sent to the R.R. to save money next year when principals have to pay all of our salaries!!I hope more people wake up and smell the coffee. I did!
Anonymous,
My school was for pregnant teens--there were 4 all together--one in each borough. The program was in existence for over 30 years, and was successful on many levels. Cami Anderson is the "new" Superintendent of Alternative schools; she is from California, and knows nothing about NYC, inner city programs and students. My friend is working in one of the "new" GED schools--she says that it is a nightmare--administrators are incompetant (surprise!)and ubiqutious, she has no books, and use of copy machines is restricted (15 at a time--the school pays Xerox extra for too many copies). Bloomberg, Klein, and their lackies are a joke--they are making a bad situation so bad it's painful! We must fight back!!!!
the ATR assigned to my school had taught for 28 years in a GED school that was closed down...he threw a chair after the class he was covering assaulted him with paper balls (our school has absolutely no discipline to speak of) and he was escorted out of the building...most likely he is in the rubber room...or a quick retirement?
thanks, Joel Klein!
I am an excessed teacher looking for a job. I went to all the job fairs the open market had and it was a JOKE. Once we arrived at the Marriot Hotel in downtown Brooklyn, they took all the excessed teachers to another room and talked to us for two hours. At 5:30-6:00p.m. when all the principals were tired and putting the signs down, they invited us into the hiring hall. What for??? To see the ghost JOBS? We complained to the union and they did not do anything. Ms. Weingarten wake up and do something for the excessed teachers. We pay the UFT to represent and fight for us.
The Union is really useless. Perhaps we should start a class-action lawsuit against the Union and the DOE for discrimination against tenured teachers. I didn't show up at the hiring hall because I knew it was going to be a scam. On top of all of this, the ISH bull&@#!@@@ has the nerve to offer us interviewing and resume writing workshops--what an insult!!!!!
Everyone needs to go to their local politicans and complain. I have begun to do this. If enough people go, perhaps something might be done. If you do not make any noise, no one will listen.
Hi Jodeam! Congrats on your new site! WE need more peoplelike you who care about education and are fed up with the incompetence of the school officials responsible for its degeneration -AND WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE! It is good to know that solidarity amongst teachers is beginning to evolve.
Long Island is not as organized as NYC. When I attempted to write a grievance with the union 3 months before I was illegally terminated from North Bellmore in 2005, the union rep proudly told me that North Bellmore had only 2 grievances for the past 9 years! That will give you an idea about the power of unions here, and what kind of representation we have- where superintendents have "unfettered" power to hire and fire teachers.
Although I had been a musician all my life, I studied for 14 years from 1990-2004 to earn my certifcations and degrees for my position as orchestra director at North Bellmore between 2002-2005. When I completed my 3-year probationary period in 2005, I was dumped by the new superintendent behind closed doors at a secret executive session where my hearing for tenure denial was never addressed.
My point is, here on long Island, we don't have Rubber Rooms, and we have the most whimpy unions on the planet, so we are more backward than NYC. I was just TERMINATED in 2005, holding the bag for a recent $23,000 education loan which I am expected to pay back for my worthless degrees, certifications and education for this abominable education system! WE MUST JOIN FORCES! Good luck on your site.
D.Hall
http://teacheradvocacylongisland.
blogspot.com
Lets be honest. There are a lot of bad teachers out there that deserve to be excessed. The students of NYC deserve more than many can give.
I have been reading the blogs about Cami Anderson and i do agree that she is not competent to lead District 79. As an individual who has dedicated their career to serving the underclass and the minorities of New York City it breaks my heart when someone like Cami Anderson comes from out of the system and tears apart a system that was functioning quite well. my old GED program had the highest GED graduation rates and we prided ourselves in being the "best" of all GED programs.
In the old day and maybe the elite at tweed should these words but doe it not make sense to hire from within?? does it not make sense to tap into the resources already available within the Dept of Ed?? we have Adminstrators and Teachers who have thirty yr plus experience and if Klein/Bloomberg would look in rather than out, the system would be in a much better place. Cami Anderson is an example of someone who has NO EXPERIENCE TEACHING IN NEW YORK CITY. Im constantly amazed how Klein made Tweed a house full young harvard educated EDUCRATS who have no familiarity or sense when it comes to dealing with school system. Just because Cami Anderson was the director of TFA in New York City that does not make her qualified for the job. Just because she has a Ed doctorate from harvard does not mean she is qualified for the job. Degrees alone do not a person qualified, its their experience WITHIN the system that make them qualified.
Do you know Cami Anderson came to the decision to abolish the old District 79? She just merely looked at data sheets and numbers. Again, this proves that Cami Anderson is not an instructional leader but a mananger, sorry, but we do not need any more managers in the DOE(the folks at Tweed are plenty).
I remember reading Cami's Anderson interview at the TFA(teach for America) website and its amazing how she double talks the person conducting the interview with her. She uses lofty terms and provides no real or concrete strategies to address the issue of addressing the educational outcomes for our neediest students. To tell you the truth, i dug up some info about TFA and i found out the attrition rate for new teachers who quit after two years is a staggering 40%!
If i was a parent of a child in GED plus i would not want Cami Anderson for the position of Superintendent since the program she headed before did not have the ability to retain a good portion of the very teachers it trains. To make matters worse let me tell you how "Cami's" wonderful reorganization played
out.
First off, as off May 2008 there is no PRINCIPAL for the new GED PLUS program!! I wonder if it legal to have a school program function without the instructional leader? I do believe there are some legal issues to that. if a crisis should arise (and it has) to whom does the staff report to?
Second, The attendence rate in January overall is an appaling 36% only to go up just to 52% by rapidly discharging 500 students so that the register is "clean" of chronic absentees. Also, the person in charge of the PIF process in district 79 does not even pocess a collge degree and yet that person holds an adminstrtive position?? This person is charged with the seriuos task of ensuring the papaerwork is done correctly.(it has not been done so because the adminstration fails to comply with the proper procedure when it comes to completing a PIF(Parent Interview Form) form.)
Third, from the onset, all the new GED hubs located through out the city did not have a functioning telephone or fax service. Communication was almost imossible and the logistics of the program was a nightmare. Students were not told of site closings and many students decided not to return upon hearing that their seasoned teachers would not be returning to the site. Some site did not start instruction until October due to the fact that there were only thre to five students in the classroom everyday. No recruitment drive was ever established prior to the start of the school year and the task of getting student fell upon the site teachers.
Hundreds of teachers from VTC,OES,CEC, and Pregnant teens were excessed improperly and made into ATR's. Right now there are many ATR's working in the GED plus program teaching full time without the status of being appointed. One reason is that the Adminstrators would rather have the school district pay for the ATR's salaries instead of thier own Budjet which is legal. In essence, people's livelihoods and job security were put into disarray just to savea quick buck and yet the DOE is unaccoutable for this. To date, there is no one state/city agencyto tell the DOE that it must comply with State Education laws and abide by the collective bargaining agreements with the unions.
Fourth, the hiring and political appointment of Assistant Principals such as Jennifer Connelly who has no conception or experience in the Alternative high school system haresses competent teachers who question her failed policies and micromanagement. Finally,
i would love to leave my name but you know how the DOE is nowadays, they will most likey send me to a reassignment center for writing the truth and writing what i think most people who work in District 79 feel. i emplore Klein and Bloomberg to seek out another candicate and restore District 79 into a functioning and viable learning institution. Next week ill be back and write some more about this issue and about other administrators who are not competement in the other GED program known as GED ACCESS
There are some really embarrassing, bad teachers in our district 79. It is time you people get over this. You are make us look badly. We are finally getting attention and people who want to support our work, and you criticize b/c all you want is a paycheck. We are tired of you spoiling our PD and their are a lot of people sick of the complaining.
What is even sadder and more embarassing is after viewing some of the above comments I realized that some of these people complaining can't even spell correctly. They are complaining about people who are in positions they probably wouldn't even consider taking because of their incompetence. It takes a lot of courage to take a position in the "new" DOE and attempt to work with people such as these everyday . To attack people and you dont even know them is not only cowardly, but pathetic. They may have just known the right people and maybe they don't have the traditional experience, but when you look at the record of D79, wasn't it time for a change?
People need to stop being bitter and ridiculous and face the facts.
It is time for us to come together and let the miserable, disgruntled people that if they were left behind, or feel upset, it is probably their own fault. Let's look to making our District something worth talking about - in a positive way.
I found this blog by accident and happen to work for District 79. I am proud to be a part of the District.
It is so sad the way that the SCI investigators under Bloom/Klein turn around and investigate a whistleblower who was just trying to protect the children. Just as there are good teachers, there are also bad ones. Let me reiterate, teachers with mental problems can pose a threat on our children. I was working as a teaching assistant and because I reported the teacher that I was assisting for abusing a 10 year old special education child in front of 11 other children. As a Mandated reporter, I chose to file several reports against the teacher. Well, immediately afterwards, the teacher, principal and assistant principal found out via SCI, that it was me who had filed the reports against her. They all then concocted a plan against me and got three of the witnesses (children) to sign a document that the teacher wrote with false allegations against me. Two weeks after I filed the reports, I was sent to the TRC. 5 months later, I was terminated. The principal terminated me because SCI recommended that I be terminated for not identifying myself in the first report that I made and based on the false allegations that they all made up about me. They might as well have given me the death penalty because I cannot collect unemployment benefits nor can I find a job as a teacher or assistant teacher in NYC. Which means that I went to college for four years of taking loans and education majors for nothing. I now owe well over $30,000.00 in student loans and do not have a job. The UFT does show some small signs of helping me because I have a big mouth and will keep calling and writing and so they did get me a grievance conference quite quickly but I do not know what will be my fate. This is really sad that the DOE, and SCI are allowed to turn investigations the way that they do and terminate good people. They want you to be a whistleblower and tell us how we are "Mandated Reporters," and yet if the reporting is not of their convenience then they terminate you. The principal told me during a conference that why did I report the teacher during "Quality Review week?" She was more concerned about how her school rated than how the children were being treated by a mentally sick teacher. Shame on them all...........
SKUNK=CHEAT=ALGONQUIAN ORGIN=OMNIVOROUS=BLACK&WHITE ON THE LOOSE ! OPPOSE ABOLISHMENT STATUTE AND PRAY DECLARATORY RELIEF PER DC RHEE CONTRACTUAL PROPOSAL. HEADS UP ! IS DC RHEE TRYING TO SELL THIS NATIONALLY AS WELL ? SEE WASHINGTON TEACHER BLOG ! "THROW THE WATER",SAID THE TIN MAN.END THE MANDATES ON NCLB AND IT'S NOT WORKING !SKUNK SPRAYED CONTRACT !
Such a title make feel like spitting at fear's face!
The true fact of this whole matter, is that I realized that you are like an angel, who is in here to encourage people to kick barriers away, then that is so nice from you!
"Spit in the face of fear..." <--
that's what i was looking for
Proposal Dissertation
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